1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for determining the concentration of sugar, bilirubin, and other substances in urine during its excretion to thereby obtain information which enables certain judgment as to the condition of health, and also to a toilet stool equipped with such an apparatus. This invention also relates to a system for collecting information on health which includes such a toilet stool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The examination of urine for glucose is made for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, etc. The examination of urine for bilirubin is made for ascertaining the function of the kidney. These examinations are usually made by medical specialists at hospitals, or other special organizations. It has been difficult to examine urine for sugar or bilirubin at home.
There is known a toilet stool having a testing portion which contains a reagent. If urine is discharged into the testing portion, it reacts with the reagent and causes it to present a change of color which indicates the presence of sugar in the urine. This stool, however, makes it possible to know only the presence of sugar, etc. in the urine as a result of a change of color. It is of no use for determining the concentration of glucose, etc. accurately. It is not always possible to expect the proper reaction of the reagent and the urine. It is not always possible to expect that the testing portion contains a sufficient supply of reagent. As a large amount of urine which is discharged is directly brought into contact with the reagent, it is often likely that the reagent may not bring about a proper oxidizing action, but may present a wrong change of color. Moreover, it is often the case that the reagent and the urine which have been reacted in the testing portion are not washed away completely. Therefore, the known apparatus is not accurate or reliable.
There are a variety of medical instruments which are easy to use, including an electronic thermometer, a scale and an automatic sphygmomanometer. They are all conveniently designed for personal use. The data obtained by using any such instrument are, however, usually left to his own judgment. Nobody can derive any professional conclusion from the data unless he is a medical specialist. Even if one measures his temperature, weight and blood pressure, he cannot derive any comprehensive conclusion based on the combination of those data unless he has any professional knowledge.